On June 6, 1944, a 56-year-old general with a secret walked onto Utah Beach under fire, armed with a cane and a pistol.
The secret: his heart was failing. He had hidden it from the army doctors so they wouldn't pull him from the mission.
His name was Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Son of the President. He had begged three separate times to lead the first wave ashore at Normandy before his commanders finally said yes.
When his landing craft drifted 2,000 yards off course, every instinct said redirect the following waves to the correct zone. Instead, Roosevelt walked the beach himself, alone, under artillery fire, cane in hand, reading the terrain.
His verdict: "We'll start the war from right here."
He then stood on that beach and personally greeted every regiment that landed after him, pointing them inland, cracking jokes under shellfire, steadying 18-year-olds who had never seen combat. He did this for hours.
Years later, Omar Bradley was asked to name the single most heroic act he had ever witnessed in combat.
His answer, without hesitation: "Ted Roosevelt on Utah Beach."
Roosevelt's son, Captain Quentin Roosevelt II, also landed at Normandy that same morning. He was named after his uncle, Quentin Roosevelt, who had been shot down as a fighter pilot over France in World War I.
Three generations. Three wars. One family.
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. died in his sleep 36 days later. Heart attack. The thing he had been hiding finally won. He never learned he had been awarded the Medal of Honor.
He was buried at the Normandy American Cemetery.
In 1955, his family had his brother Quentin, killed in WWI, exhumed from where he fell in France and reinterred right beside him. Quentin is the only World War I soldier buried there.
Two brothers. Two world wars. The same French soil.
Their father had once said: "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
Both of his sons did exactly that.
This #MemorialDay, we honor and remember the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our country.
We are grateful for their sacrifice and for the families who carry their legacy forward. 🇺🇸
#SupportOurTroops#USPork
This just in! The Boston Butt Pork Burger is in Fareway Stores and ready to be enjoyed all month long, thanks to our friends over at @iowapork 😋 🍔
We stopped into our Des Moines Fleur location and met up with Meat Manager, Kurt to see the process from start to finish! Find these on sale 2/$4 through 5/2 🔥
☀️ Are you trying these out?
If you think:
* Yzerman should be fired.
* McLellan should be fired.
*Larkin should be stripped of the C and/or traded.
I think:
*You are a lunatic.
*Or a troll
#LGRW
Good luck to our men’s world baseball team. Finish the deal tonight and we will have won three gold medals in hockey and a championship in baseball. What a great last few months for our athletes representing our country.
@The_Mexinadian Most rational statement I have seen. Have been a 35 year fan and we are close to being where we are taking the next step. Injuries may challenge that this year but still think we get it done.